The government came under heavy criticism in Ok's speech: “certain Ministers of Justice are under the illusion that they are superior to that of judges and prosecutors."
Ok, also criticised the new version of the Turkish penal code. “Making law requires insight, experience and patience,” said Ok, "Because of the fact that the maturation period was kept short for the new code, opportunities to evaluate it have also been limited.”
Drawing a connection between the rule of law and independent courts, Nuri Ok commented: “Independence of courts are guaranteed only if the rule of law is firmly in force. If law is seen as an obstacle, then that means courts are under pressure.”
“We cannot talk about a functioning principle of rule of law when we are not meeting universal legal criteria. If there is intervention to the decision-making processes of the courts, that means we have failed as a democracy.”
The attorney general also warned against the rising nationalist sentiments in the country, advising that discrimination, hostility and nationalism should not be provoked when advocating for different cultures, faiths and rights of ethnic groups.
According to Ok, the most important message to get across is “the concept of a secular, democratic and unitarian state – without any concession whatsoever.”
